The Portlander Breakfast Sandwich

Alex and I were up late recently, watching a food truck show where The Big Egg was featured. While the numerous creations were being made, we obsessively kept rewinding and watching it again, determined to make one for breakfast the next morning.
We decided to try The Portlander, our way:

Two eggs (I opted for one, Alex had two but said one would be preferable)
Stone ground mustard on grilled brioche bread (or in our case, hearty white)
Top with thick-cut bacon, Gorgonzola and chives (or green onion)
Return to griddle to help melt the cheese.

If you check out their menu, you will see that this sandwich has many options: the eggs can be made easy, medium, hard, or scrambled. The cheese choices include Fontina, Tillamook White Cheddar, or Gorgonzola. Meat choices are thick-cut smoked bacon, Black Forest ham, or house-made vegetarian sausage.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-Ups

Andrew really enjoyed these for lunch!
Who doesn't love cream cheese?

Cut the crusts off your bread, spread cream cheese on it, sprinkle with raisins (I used currants, which are smaller) and roll up.
Cut into 3 bite size pieces.
Dip in melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (the grinder is handy).

Bake at 350º for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Lunch is ready!

Roasted Squash, Apple & Goat Cheese Salad

This is a colorful, satisfying salad. I first had it as a sample given out at Whole Foods. It was prepared by a local restaurant, EVOO. They handed out recipe cards for it and I have since made it a few times!
For the holidays or a special dinner, you can style this nicely when plating up.
It would be great served as a satisfying side to roasted chicken, turkey or pork.
It keeps well for a couple days though it is best eaten fresh, while the squash is still warm, contrasted by the crisp, cool apples.
If you make it ahead of time, add the goat cheese and pecans at the last moment.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup 1/2" diced roasted squash (such as butternut, tossed in maple vinaigrette, 30 min at 400º)
1 cup peeled 1/4" diced apple (your favorite kind, I prefer something tart rather than sweet)
1/4 cup small diced red onion
3/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup roasted chopped pecans (or walnuts)
2 Tb chopped fresh sage
2 Tb chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup maple vinaigrette (3 Tb basic vinaigrette: 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, plus 1 Tb maple syrup)

sea salt & black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup vinaigrette and apples. This will prevent them from browning.
Use the leftover vinaigrette to toss the squash in and roast it. Toss every 5 minutes or so and be careful, the little cubes can burn easily.
Add all the other ingredients.

Taster-approved! Especially enjoyed with a heavy dose of pecans.

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmades)

Recently, on a trip to the Arax Market on Mt. Auburn St. in Watertown, I found a few varieties of jarred grape leaves. I decided to buy an attractive 16oz jar for $3.99.
With these, I would make my own stuffed grape leaves!
I used chicken broth but they certainly could be made completely vegetarian using vegetable stock instead.
I do want to try making them with sirloin in the stuffing (Nana's recipe). Other recipes I reviewed call for lamb or spicy sausage.
Dolmades are sooooo good: savory yet lemony and refreshing. I think they're best eaten straight from the fridge, with the yogurt-feta dip (see below). Tonight we had them along with some lemon-pepper grilled chicken.

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmades)
inspired by Tyler Florence, Food Network

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb, halved, cored and diced
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (plus more for dip, see below)
1/2 cup pine nuts (they were $7.99 so I subbed sunflower seeds, $1.69)
1 cup long-grain rice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for my vegetarian friends)
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 (16-ounce) jar grape leaves
2 lemons, juiced

To make the filling, coat a large saute pan with 1/4 cup of the oil and place over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel and lemon zest and stir every couple minutes until soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the pine nuts and rice, saute for 2 minutes, stirring to coat. Pour in just 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and lower the heat. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover while you prep the grape leaves.

Prepare the grape leaves:
Drain from jar and put in a bowl of water to rinse. The leaves are salty.
Bring a big pot of water to a simmer. Blanch the grape leaves in the hot water for 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl of ice cold water (add ice if necessary).
Remove leaves to a colander to drain.

Scrape the parboiled rice mixture into a bowl and add the dill and parsley; season with salt (I like using Trader Joe's smoked salt) and pepper.

Roll the dolmades:Carefully separate and lay a grape leaf on a work surface, shiny-side down. Remove any tough stems.
Put rice filling near the stem end of the leaf. The amount used will vary depending on the sze of your leaf. It is better to use less than too much, you want to wrap the filling so that it doesn't leak out. Inevitably you will destroy some leaves by ripping them while rolling or while separating them- they are fragile.Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold both sides toward the middle, and roll up into a cigar – it should be snug but not overly tight because the rice will swell once it is fully cooked.

Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand to secure the roll. Repeat with remaining grape leaves and filling.
Place them in a large Dutch oven or wide deep skillet, seam-side down in a single layer. Pour the remaining cup of broth, remaining olive oil, and the lemon juice over the dolmades. I chose to emulsify the liquids with a Cuisinart quip prep before doing this. The liquid should reach halfway up the rolls.
Bring the pot to a simmer over medium heat, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Dolmades are done when they are tender when pierced with a fork. Carefully remove to a storage container or serving plate.
Serve warm, at room temperature or refrigerate and eat cold.

Keeps for 3 days.

Yogurt-Feta dip
(epicurious.com)

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (recommended not use low-fat or nonfat; I could only find 2%)
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 large green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
  

Place all ingredients in processor and puree until almost smooth. (I used the Cuisinart quick prep.) Season with pepper.
Can be made 2 days ahead.

Salsa made the easy way!

I always enjoy checking out canning supplies. At our local supermarket, Shaw's, I picked up something interesting: Fiesta Salsa Mix!
What's so neat about this is that it tells you exactly how to make it, either to preserve or eat right away and all you have to add, besides tomatoes and this mix of dehydrated veggies and spices, is a small amount of vinegar.
I was really surprised by how good the ending result was!
You can also make salsa with this mix simply using a can of petite diced tomatoes.
I added 1/2 tsp of my favorite hot sauce made with habanero and jalapeno peppers.
I did the "fresh preserve" method using 4 1/2 cups of chopped tomatoes and 4 8oz jars.
We don't usually go through a large jar of salsa in one sitting so it made sense to use smaller jars.
I simply followed the directions to chop up the tomatoes though I did peel them.
The salsa is a bit watery so next time I'll take the extra step to seed the tomatoes before dicing them. Tortilla "scoops" will be perfect. After filling the jars there was some juice left in the pan and I drank it up, yum! Thinking about it makes me want to pop open a jar now.
Be warned: when processing your jars in boiling water, tomatoes take a lot longer: 35 minutes! Good thing it's cool outside to air out the kitchen.

Pickled Hot Cherry Peppers

I love Peppadew peppers but they cost around $6 at the store. A repeat from last year, I grew my own hot cherry peppers (from directly sown seed) in the garden and canned them. This time I kept it simple, not adding any other "distracting" spices except for peppercorns. There are still plenty of green peppers out in the garden, I am hoping they turn red soon!

One thing I learned from this recipe is that you should put the peppers in the boiling liquid. This will help soften them so you can pack more into the jar. I probably could have fit 20 peppers!

Makes 1 pint (2 cup jar). I happened to use a wide-mouth jar.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound hot cherry peppers, washed well and dried (9)
• 14 whole black peppercorns
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 TB sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Cut the stem tops off the cherry peppers. Use a small spoon to scoop out the core/seeds. Leave some seeds if you want it really hot. Put peppers and peppercorns into 1 pint-size sterilized glass jar.
   
2. Bring vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves. Pour hot pickling liquid over peppers, leaving 1/4-inch headspace at tops. Can in water bath for 15 minutes.
   

Beef Stroganoff

I've made this so many times and in so many variations. I usually make it as a quick meal with frozen meatballs (and even vegetarian) instead of steak. If you go the frozen route, make the sauce first and simmer the frozen balls in it for 12-15 minutes.
Make it however you please so that you enjoy it! This recipe was a little more involved but worth it.
Serve over the ubiquitous buttered egg noodles.

Heat a heavy sauce pan over high heat, add in 1 tsp veg. oil. Add mushrooms (a container- I quartered basic white mushrooms and tossed in some sliced shiitake to add flavor). Cook for about 4 minutes, turning/tossing often. Season with salt & pepper and put aside in a medium-large bowl.
Add another tsp veg oil and cook the steak, also over high heat. I used 1/2 lb shaved steak (for 3 people)- you could also use tenderloin cut up or whatever you like. Try moose meat! Hehe. Sear for about 3 minutes without moving the meat. Turn and cook an additional minute and season with s & p. My recent find is Trader Joe's Smoked Sea Salt (in a grinder), yeah! Transfer to the mushroom bowl.
Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup dry red wine. Once it becomes syrupy, pour into the bowl. Use a spatula to clear the pan. Turn down the heat to medium.
Add a pat of butter to the pan (1 Tb) and melt, then dump in 1/2 cup minced onion, 1 tsp tomato paste, and 1 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar. Cook until the onion is lightly browned, after 3 min. Add 1 Tb flour, mix in well, then pour in 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup dry red wine. Let simmer away until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Add 1/3 cup sour cream by tempering: pour 1/2 cup of the hot sauce into a small bowl with the sour cream, stir to combine then add the combo back to the sauce pan. Add the bowl of meat & mushrooms and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add additional s and or p if necessary.
Serve over noodles. YUM!